Legal News

Second Phase of Luzerne Case Review Begins

By Brian Harris

By Leo Strupczewski
Of the Legal Staff

The Berks County senior judge appointed by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to review juvenile cases in Luzerne County has begun reviewing serious misdemeanor and low-level felony cases heard before a former judge there.

Senior Judge Arthur E. Grim will examine the cases, heard before former Luzerne County President Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., for possible dismissal or expungement, Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille said.

?We are continuing our effort to address the miscarriage of justice that has come to light in Luzerne County,? Castille said. ?This is the next step in our commitment to restore public confidence and to rebuild the juvenile justice system in the county.?

Ciavarella and fellow former Luzerne County President Judge Michael T. Conahan admitted in January to taking more than $2.6 million in kickbacks from one of the owners and the builder of PA Child Care, a private, for-profit juvenile detention center. Both have agreed to serve 87 months in federal prison. The government alleges that the payments influenced the judges to steer juveniles to the facility, but Ciavarella and Conahan deny that allegation.

The justices appointed Grim, the chairman of the Pennsylvania Juvenile Court Judges' Commission, in February to conduct a review of all juvenile cases handled by Ciavarella between 2003 and 2008. They allowed him broad discretion in making recommendations and Grim divided the work into at least three phases. The first dealt with the least serious offenses. Any phase after the one Grim has just begun will deal with more serious charges.

Castille said Grim will again file a report and recommendation with the justices. The chief justice said he hopes the phase, which likely includes 400 cases, is completed by mid-July or early August.

The low-level felonies being reviewed in this phase are of a non-violent nature, Castille said.

Two weeks ago, the court announced that Grim will begin expunging court records for an estimated 800 youths in June. Those cases dealt with misdemeanors of the third degree or summary offenses.

"Had the juveniles in these cases been represented by competent counsel, had they appeared before an impartial tribunal, and had their other constitutional rights been protected, the vast majority of these cases would have resulted in consent decrees, or some lesser sanction," Grim wrote in his initial report to the justices. "Had these cases resulted in consent decrees or lesser sanctions, all of these juveniles would be entitled to have their juvenile delinquency case records expunged by now pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S. 9123."

Full post as published by The Legal Intelligencer Blog on May 21, 2009 (boomark / email).